ABOUT GRAHAM

Graham Barnes is a native of Kingsport, TN. He began his studies with Kingsport Ballet at the age of 4 and began training under the tutelage of  Artistic Director Emeritus, Valeria Sinyavskaya in 2012 until 2019, Graham competed in Youth America Grand Prix in 2018 and 2019 when he won 2nd place in the Junior Men’s Division Semi-Finals. At Kingsport Ballet Graham  also received instruction under Jessica Barrett and Erika Ballard. As a student he attended the summer intensives as a scholarship student: Bolshoi Ballet Academy; CT, USA IBC 2018, Boys Ballet Summer Intensive, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater “Company Experience”, Dutch National Ballet Academy; The Netherlands, and The Royal Danish Ballet; Denmark. He trained at The HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton, FL, where he attended all four years. While at HARID, he studied under Victoria Schnider, Alexey Kulpin, Meelis Pakri, and Svetlana Osiyeva. He graduated receiving the The Modern Dance Study Award, Character Dance Study Award and the Jeannot B. Cerrone Award for “Excellence in Dance Performance”.

After graduating, Graham joined Nashville Ballet II under the direction of Maria Konrad in 2023. During this time he has worked under Nashville Ballet Artistic Director and CEO, Nick Mullikin. He has also had the privilege of being coached by Anais Chalendard. Graham has performed in the Nashville Dance Festival and Pittsburgh Ballet Theaters “Summer Concert Series.” He has performed soloist roles in The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Seeds of Change, Paquita as well as Swan Lake and Don Quixote.  He has worked and performed works by Rika Okamoto, Alexander Brady, Nortber de la Cruz, and Mark Godden When Graham is not dancing he works at School of Nashville Ballet as a “School Associate” helping with various administrative tasks and guest teaching at Kingsport Ballet.